Ultimately, Diamant credits independent book stores and book clubs for making the novel a best-seller. In both cases, the books were accompanied by letters of endorsement from the organisations’ presidents, both personal friends of Diamant.įrom there, word about “The Red Tent” spread. Another batch went to members of the Reconstructionist Rabbinic Assembly. Still, the publisher was planning to destroy (or “pulp”) some remaining hardcover copies.Īt that point, Diamant had an idea: Why not ship the books directly to select groups of readers? The publisher agreed, and several copies went to members of the Women’s Rabbinic Network, a group of women in the Reform rabbinate. The novel sold reasonably well for a debut and subsequently was issued in paperback. Eventually it sold to St Martin’s Press, and Diamant received a modest advance. In Diamant’s book, the Dinah narrative expands, revealing a fuller, fictionalised understanding of her life – as well as a powerful portrait of ancient feminine community and experience.Īlongside her work on other writing projects, Diamant spent about three years drafting “The Red Tent”. The novel, Diamant recalled, seemed to strike people as “a weird idea”.ĭinah receives only brief attention in the Bible, and her story is a violent one. “It was not a given that the book was going to get published” at all, Diamant told JTA in a recent interview, describing the difficulties she encountered in trying to find a literary agent to represent the project. In fact, Diamant never expected such extraordinary success. The novel has sold millions of copies around the world and was adapted into a 2014 Lifetime miniseries starring Minnie Driver.īut “The Red Tent” did not become a best-seller when it first hit shelves in 1997. It was a work of historical fiction, set in biblical times, that focused on the story of Dinah, the only daughter of Jacob and Leah.

Book called the red tent